The Hunter
by Jadiona
Summary: In a world of the hidden supernatural, Bella was raised knowing her place in the world. Part of her life was always fighting the good fight to protect normal humans from the things that go bump in the dark. But when her father makes a call to her mom with a vampire problem in the town she was born, she's the one that takes the plunge to get rid of the problem. Eventual ExB
1. Preface

**The Hunter**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight as I am not Stephenie Meyer. Since I am not her, I make no money from any fanfictions I post. I also don't own the Evernight Series by Claudia Gray which is part of the inspiration behind this story.

 **AN:** I originally started writing this story in 2010 but removed it in 2015, it was only about a third of the way done. This was always a story that I wanted to finish but after awhile I wasn't a hundred percent happy with the direction I was taking it. So while this is a re-post... it's also going to be a rewrite.

 **Preface**

"What are you going to do now?"

His question was so basic, so simple, and yet so complicated. He had no idea what he was really asking. I had limited choices because I could _never_ have him. My one chance to even live was to run, but if I ran I'd never be able to stop and I'd have to go so deep into the underground that I'd become worse than the very creatures I'd been raised to kill.

I didn't think I could do that.

"Your family will need to leave Forks and never go back, change your names, forget that you ever met me, and most importantly be much better aware of your surroundings in the future. I may have decided you and your family don't deserve to die – mostly because of my feelings for you – but no other of my people will do that."

"And you?"

I didn't say anything for a minute before I finally swallowed. "I'll return to base."

"Why do you say that like it's a death sentence?"

"It is."


	2. Chapter 1 - The Return

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight as I am not Stephenie Meyer. Since I am not her, I make no money from any fanfictions I post. I also don't own the Evernight Series by Claudia Gray which is part of the inspiration behind this story.

 **Chapter 1 – The Return**

It had been four years since my last visit. This wasn't a visit though, this was business.

Nineteen years ago my mother had enrolled in Forks high, because she had been on a mission. A vampire had been stocking Port Angeles, and it was my mother's first personal mission. She had been seventeen when she had enrolled as a senior, but had gotten in over her head, and not with the vampire. We could fight vampires; that was easy, once you learned how. She couldn't, however, combat young love. She had prematurely gotten married, ended up pregnant, and I had been the product.

I, Bella Swan, had been a mistake, an accident. I had had it drilled into me a thousand times; I never should have been born, at least not then. My mother had always planned that she would eventually have a child, but she had always believed it would be the product between another hunter, never this. I was never meant to exist. Not that it mattered, I did, end of story.

My mother, Renee, was one of the strongest hunters in our group, and her husband, Phil, was the leader. I was on my first private mission, back in Forks. My father himself had called and told us of the vampires in Forks. It had been Phil, who had decided to send me here, and I had to admit that I was excited; my first true vampire hunt.

My father, Charlie, the chief of police, didn't know that I was being sent out, he wouldn't know until I knocked on the door. I knew he would freak when he realized that I was the hunter of choice.

I was driving my black Pontiac Solstice, which had been a birthday gift to me on my sixteenth birthday from my mom, to Forks. It was probably going to be the sweetest vehicle that the town of Forks had ever seen.

I only had three bags and my purse with me. My purse consisted of my wallet with all three of my fake IDs, my papers for school enrollment, my cash, my credit card, my cell phone, my IPOD, some basic makeup, a small vial of Calts Oil, and one tampon. In my first bag I had all the clothes and toiletry items that I needed. In my second bag were my laptop, and all the personal items that I took wherever I went. And in the last bag was my hunting gear.

Now vampires weren't like the old myths tell you. Vampires wouldn't burn in the sun, instead they sparkled. Holy water wouldn't work, crosses wouldn't work, stakes only work to kindle a fire, and forget everything else that you have ever heard. A vampire was like rock, so a bullet would do no good. They didn't shy away from onions and garlic, and their eyes could be black, red, pink, or gold.

There was only one way to kill a vampire, burn it to ash, and spread the ashes. The only good vampire was a dead vampire. So no matter how handsome or sexy a vampire looked it was deadly.

Vampires didn't have heartbeats; they didn't have blood running through their system, and technically they didn't need blood to survive.

Vampires were its, there were no he's or she's. No matter what sex they had when they were human, they were no longer human, and therefore no longer had a sex to mention.

A vampire didn't have a conscience or morals, it wasn't possible. Vampires could be convincing that they had emotions, but they didn't have those either.

Our hunting group specialized in vampires, but we knew of the other creatures out there, and we never lost sight of that. Our group was called Rose based off of Phil's great great grandmother back when she had started our group.

I knew my father wasn't going to like the fact that they had sent me, but we were currently short on numbers, and fifteen year olds were going out on hunts by themselves currently. We had been seriously depleted of manpower when one of our hideouts had been burnt to the ground with six men, seven women, and twelve children burned alive. The police said it was an accident but we all knew the truth – the soulless bastards burned one of our safe havens to the ground, and it only renewed my faith that we were doing the right thing.

On my left ring finger was a small diamond ring that I would remove before I started going to school. My fiancé, Jeod, was currently in Oregon on his own assignment. I loved him, but it wasn't in the way that people should get married for. He was only two years older than me and we grew up together, we had known each other our whole lives, but we were like brother and sister. Our marriage was more of a way to take one for the team, as less and less of the females chose to get pregnant. It took too much time away from our work to be pregnant for nine months and then raise a child for the next few years. Our group was slowly dying out though, so Jeod and I decided to marry and have a child. It was a mutual decision, and at least we loved each other in some way.

I pulled to a stop in front of my father's house. It was the same paint job that it had had the last time I was here and I was shocked to feel a sense of relief. I hadn't been in a place that I could even begin to consider as a home in almost a year, and though this wasn't really a home either, it was the closest thing I had.

I got out and grabbed my bags before walking to the door and ringing the doorbell.

A moment later Charlie opened the door, his eyes widened. "Bella, what are you doing here?"

"You're the one that needed a hunter, well here I am," I said acerbically.


	3. Chapter 2 - Reaction

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight as I am not Stephenie Meyer. Since I am not her, I make no money from any fanfictions I post. I also don't own the Evernight Series by Claudia Gray which is part of the inspiration behind this story.

 **Chapter 2 - Reaction**

"What?" Charlie spluttered.

"Well, dad, I'm the hunter they sent. Now are you going to let me in or am I going to have to stay in a hotel while I'm here," I said with the same mild chill.

Charlie stepped out of the way, his eyes were glazed over with shock. "I can't believe they sent you for this, you're a child."

I rolled my eyes, I had been helping with the hunts since before I could remember. I wasn't a child, had never been one. "Well, if it's any consolation to you than my mother didn't agree to it. It was Phil's idea. We're short handed, Charlie, there are kids younger than me going out on hunts on their own. Besides, I haven't been a child for a long time."

Charlie's head fell in his hands. "You're too young for this."

"I'm a month older than Renee was when she came here on her first hunt," I said.

Charlie took me in, two of the bags slung over my left shoulder, my purse slung over my right, and my last bag in my right hand. I was wearing a pair of jeans and a light gray tee that was unflattering to my curves. Then he saw the ring and zeroed in on it. "What the hell does this mean?" He snapped as he grabbed my hand in anger.

"I'm engaged to a hunter named Jeod," I said.

"Is your mom okay with this? Do you actually love each other?" Charlie asked.

"My mom isn't okay with it, but she isn't not okay with it either. She realizes that it's a necessary evil. I do love Jeod but not in the way you mean. He's like a brother to me. It was a mutual agreement between him and me," I said.

"Why are you marrying him?" Charlie asked.

"Our culture is dying out, Rose, our faction, is almost extinct. We need a new generation to start training, and soon. I'm taking one for the team. Besides it will keep me out of action for a few years, so you ought to be happy," I said with a small shrug.

"At the cost of you having a child with a man you don't love, how could I possibly be happy about that?" Charlie said.

My temper flared because I hated the way he thought of us. He had always thought that what we did was in someway wrong, especially when it came to people my age. "Look, you don't have arguing rights with me, Charlie. I'm here on a mission, nothing more and nothing less. You haven't seen me in four years. You haven't even bothered to contact me in two. Be glad they sent me, because if it weren't for this mission, I seriously doubt that you'd be seeing me anytime soon. Now, if you are going to raise holy hell because of this –" I paused to make sure I had his full attention "– I will rent a hotel and stay there for the duration of this mission. Or you can be civil and we might actually get some father-daughter time."

Charlie huffed as his face turned bright red. "You still have the same bedroom."

I stepped past him and headed toward the stairs. "Look, I haven't had any sleep in over two days, therefore I'm going to get some sleep. You can argue with me in the morning, before I go to school," I said, and then continued up the stairs and to my bedroom.

I dropped my bags on the floor along with my purse. I reached in my hunting bag and pulled out my gun. It was a .357 and it wouldn't do any good against a vampire, but it would against most other things – including the common thief. I shoved it under the pillow of the bed, and laid down on top of the covers. I fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

That night I dreamt of Jeod. He had rich golden blond shoulder length hair that often fell in his eyes. His eyes were a strange yellow color, like that of cat – his whole family on his father's side had that eye color. It was strangely unnerving to see, but if you knew him long enough you got used to it. On the back of his neck was a small tattoo that was an entanglement of ivy and my first name, in cursive, underneath. Tonight – in my dream – he was wearing faded, holey jeans, a tee with the emblem of the cross on it, and an old biker's jacket. He wore a belt and in his belt was the eight inch knife that he carried everywhere. In his hand was a small ring box.

It was a memory of a conversation that we had had only a few weeks prior.

" _Bella, I wanted to talk to you before I headed to Oregon as it sounds like my mission is going to take awhile," Jeod said quietly, softly – just like he did before he put an animal out of it's misery._

 _I never liked it when he used that voice, because it almost always meant something was seriously wrong._

" _What?" I asked wearily. I knew what his next words were going to be so I planted my feet firmly on the floor, even though I also realized that I would do as he requested – I always did._

" _Perhaps we should go for a walk. I'd prefer we talked in private. You know, away from Rose," Jeod said and, as usual, he didn't wait for my reply. He just started walking and I followed – just like always._

 _We walked outside, heading several blocks away before he finally stopped and turned to look at me._

" _I've been thinking for a while now, and you know how our organization is dwindling rather rapidly?" He paused so I nodded. "So I'm wondering if you would consider marrying me," Jeod finished and tossed me the ring box._

 _I caught it reflexively and opened the lid. Embezzled in the velvet hole was a slender gold band with a small diamond on top. I looked at him in sheer horror, not because of the marriage idea, that was reasonable – expected even as we had talked of it before – but because of the ring. It looked real, and it had to have cost him a small fortune. "This isn't real, is it?" I asked and I could tell that my horror could be heard in my voice._

" _Of course it's real, twenty-four karat gold with a one carat diamond. I wouldn't get anything but the best for you, Bella," Jeod said._

 _I groaned. "Jeod, you can't afford this. I'll marry you but you shouldn't have bought me this."_

" _Well I did, and – before you waste your breath saying it – I will not take it back. Bella, I know you aren't exactly thrilled with being out of commission for four years while you raise a kid…" He trailed off._

" _But, it's taking one for the team," I said softly as I held the box out to him._

 _He looked at me in confusion._

" _Put it on me, idiot," I said._

 _He laughed as he came over. He proceeded to take the ring out of the box and slid it on my finger. "At least we love each other. It's better than some of the marriages in our organization," he said as he shoved the box in my jean pocket, and then wound his hand in mine. We headed back toward Rose._

I woke at dawn to my internal alarm and got up. I wasn't going to head downstairs yet though. I didn't want to deal with my father. I ruffled through my clothes and found a tight fitting black tee, a pair of faded hipster jeans, and a lacy black bra with matching panties. I put the clothes on quickly and pulled my hair into a ponytail. My shirt covered both of the tattoos I had. The first was on the back of my shoulder and was a tattoo of a blue rose – every member of the Rose faction had one in that spot, though not everyone had a blue one. My second tattoo was a pair of angel wings on the small of my back with Jeod, in cursive, underneath.

I pulled a backpack out of my second bag, and put my laptop in it, as well as two notebooks, several pens, a pack of pencils, and a ream of paper. I grabbed my purse and stuffed the gun in it. Then I put all the rest of my stuff away, carefully folding and arranging my clothes in the dresser along with all my personal items – placing my books, cds and more in very specific orders on my end tables – before I shoved the bag with my hunter gear under the bed so that it rested directly beneath the headboard.

I waited until twenty minutes before school before I finally headed downstairs. Charlie was sitting at the table, waiting on me, as I'd expected.

"We'll have to talk after school; I can't be late on my first day," I said as I headed past him.

Charlie's face turned red and he remained stonily quiet. I got in the Pontiac and headed straight to school. As I pulled in the parking lot I noted that there was a fancy Volvo at the front. It was the only vehicle in the entire parking lot of such notability. I got out and headed to the office. Once I was inside I told the lady at the desk that I had just moved here and needed to start my classes. I filled out the paperwork, and then was given a schedule according to where I could fit.

The first five classes passed in a blur as it was just a tedium of boring information that did me no good in the real world. No one really needed algebra or to know the reason why Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE. None of the vampires were in any of them. I did get several admirers, including three boys named Tyler, Mike, and Eric. Also two girls had latched onto me named Jessica and Angela.

Then I got to lunch and that was when I saw them, five in all. The first I classified was the large, muscular male with dark hair – a brute. The one that sat beside him was a gorgeous blond – a succubus. The next was a male with blond disarrayed hair and thin muscles – a fighter. The female beside him was angelic, tiny, and would be dangerous as she had to have an ability... all the small ones did. The last was a male with copper colored hair and was seemingly average in every way. I wasn't sure of how to classify him which was concerning in and of itself. They all had black eyes so I couldn't tell what they hunted yet. I'd have to wait until after they hunted to know.

As I sat down at the table with Jessica I asked her who they were.

"Those are the Cullens. Mr. and Mrs. Cullen's children, Carlisle is a doctor at the hospital and Esme substitute teaches here every once and awhile. They're names are Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, and Edward," Jessica replied.

"Are their parents of the same white skin tone?" I asked feigning to be only semi-interested.

The boy with the copper hair's head shot up as he turned his head and looked at our table.

"Actually, now that you mention it, yes," Jessica replied cocking her head to the side. "Why?"

"No reason. Do any of them have red eyes?" I replied casually.

Their whole table was looking at me now.

"What, like a vampire?" Jessica asked.

I laughed in earnest, "No, not like a vampire. Vampires are fictitious. I meant, like an albino, one of my friends back where I come from was albino." I said. That, at least, wasn't a lie – one of the hunters in my faction was actually albino.


	4. Chapter 3 - Danger

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight as I am not Stephenie Meyer. Since I am not her, I make no money from any fanfictions I post. I also don't own the Evernight Series by Claudia Gray which is part of the inspiration behind this story.

 **Chapter 3 – Danger**

I entered my biology class a mere minute before the bell rang. It turned out I should have taken the overly helpful girl's offer to walk with me because I'd gotten lost on the way to my class. I wasn't really ready to spend another hour in a class being taught info which had no use in my life, though science was somewhat more useful than most of the other classes... even if chemistry would be preferable to biology.

The instant I entered the class, I started to look around. The class was packed with almost every seat having been taken, except one – the one right next to the copper-haired vampire.

My eyes narrowed for a brief second as I wondered if I could put him down right here and now, even though I knew there were too many witnesses. He was a part of everything I hated in this world, something which shouldn't even exist. As his eyes widened slightly in what had to be his fake impression of shock, I took a deep breath and smiled softly as I lowered my eyes, letting myself appear to be shy and excited.

I turned away from the vampire and headed over to the desk of the science teacher.

"My name's Bella and I'm new here today. I'm the chief's daughter." I placed my paper down on the desk and held my hand out to the teacher as I spoke.

The teacher slowly reached out and took my hand in a firm grip. "My name's Mr. Munoz. I wasn't aware the chief had a daughter, but you picked a good time to start as we're just starting on cellular biology. The class is a bit full but there is a seat next to Edward Cullen. He's relatively new here as well, so you two may be able to help each other out."

I barely contained my snort, everything he said was funny to me. I wasn't exactly surprised he didn't know my father had a daughter. After all, how was Charlie supposed to explain me anyways? _"Oh, I have a daughter who is out slaying monsters. Real ones. She does all the stuff a cop should be doing but is too stupid to handle."_ Or perhaps the conversation would go something more like, _"Yeah, I have a daughter... What can I say? We all have skeletons in our closet."_

I stood a moment longer than was strictly appropriate without replying to the teacher before I finally nodded and turned toward the aisle to walk to my seat beside the bloody devil incarnate.

That was when everything went to hell in a hand basket because a breeze from the ceiling fan caught my hair and blew it around. The _instant_ it happened the vampire, Edward, looked as if he found his next meal. Actually, he looked as if he'd been staving for years and I was the best feast he'd ever laid eyes on. If I didn't know better, I'd swear I must be his blood singer, but that was insane because blood singers were myth... Of course, a lot of people would say vampires were myth too, but there was a difference between that type of myth and the other. After all, vampire were real and blood singers were a folktale which ancient vampires claimed to exist. It was likely blood singers were elves or some sort of fair folk from a time when such beings regularly walked the earth, but blood singers weren't _human_.

I continued my walk to my seat, determined not to be concerned by the fact he was looking at me like a piece of wagyu beef ready for eating. He had black eyes which told me he was not a newborn and therefore was plenty old enough to know better than to make a scene in front of a bunch of humans. And besides, on the off the chance he was that stupid, I'd be taking him down with me.

Finally, I sat down beside him and let my hair fall forward to cover my face and neck as I pulled out my notebook and opened it up to start doodling, carefully drawing the wings of Valhalla in exacting detail as I caught out of the corner of my eye a Volvo keychain sticking out of the vampire's pants pocket. It told me exactly what I'd been wondering when I'd first arrived at school.

Mr. Munoz drawled on and on about the first phase of a cell and I was quite certain I looked like every other student in the class who was wishing they were somewhere but I could get away with it, because I _was_ paying attention, even when it didn't looked like it. It was a skill I had mastered because of being a hunter. Besides... I doubted it would take me all that long to take care of the Forks vampire problem and then I'd be on my way. What was the point of caring about schooling – of which I already knew – when I'd be gone in a month? Two tops.

Suddenly Mr. Munoz called out to me, obviously hoping to catch me unaware. "What is the first phase of the cell cycle, Miss Swan?"

I didn't even look up from my drawing as I spoke up, "Prophase is the first phase in cell division, when chromosomes condense and can be seen as two chromatids under a microscope. Metaphase is the second phase of cell division, during which chromosomes line up in preparation for separation. Anaphase is the third phase of cell division during which chromosomes move to the poles of the spindle. Telophase is the last phase of cell division, in which daughter cell nuclei form around chromosomes at opposite ends of the dividing mother cell. And Interphase is the period during which a cell is not actively dividing, when other activities such as DNA synthesis take place, cells spend most of their life cycle in Interphase. I believe that more than answers your question."

I could feel stares from a number of my fellow students and even a glower from Mr. Munoz, but I didn't care. He'd be doing himself a favor if he didn't call on me, at least if he didn't want to get shown up.

On the other hand, Edward kept glancing at me. I wasn't looking at him, but I could sense his eyes on me – as if there were knives being buried into my left side – every time he glanced my way. It was unnerving, but I kept an outward cool. If he wanted to look, I'd let him.

Mr. Munoz didn't call on me again, and when the bell rang Edward was up and out of the classroom at a speed which went entirely against his facade. It made me wonder if he was younger than I believed him to be.

I headed to gym, but wasn't required to dress out as the teacher, Coach Clapp, was discussing the next sport we would be doing. We were going to be starting volleyball, a fair sport, if one had the patience for it. My personal favorite sports were violent variations of dodgeball, fencing, archery, wrestling, martial arts, and boxing, not that we could technically do any of those in gym class. After all... god forbid if a student decided to lob a dodgeball into someone else's nose, like Mike's.

…

I waited till about twenty minutes before the end of class and then I slipped out, heading straight to the glove-box in my car. I reached inside and pulled out the small tracking chip as well as a fancy pen. I dropped my backpack in the passenger seat and pulled out my science notebook so I could rip out the sheet with the wings on it. I started writing a note on the paper.

 _Dear Edward,_

 _I saw you checking me out during biology today and you're not very good at being inconspicuous. I wanted to stick around to talk to you, but I had to get home, so I left this instead. My cell phone number is 111-111-1111. Please call if you want to get together, and I know you do. I saw the way you looked at my chest._

 _Bella_

 _P.S. There's a great Italian restaurant in Port Angeles, it's name sounds a lot like mine._

 _P.P.S. Lose the black contacts, they're unflattering to your eyes._

I walked to the Volvo and placed the note under the wiper before walking toward the back of the car and sticking the tracking device in the left rear wheel well. Finally I returned to my car, started it and drove off. My bait was set.

…

When I got to Charlie's I headed straight to my room. I pulled my hair out of the ponytail and slipped out of the shirt. I switched it out with a silver-blue three-quarter sleeve tee which had the word angel embroidered into the lower back. I pulled my gun out of my purse and slipped it under my shirt at the small of my back because I didn't go anywhere without my gun, even when the only place I was going was to my backyard. Finally, I went over to the dresser and pulled out my set of throwing daggers along with a bottle of spray paint and headed outside.

It was one thing that was good about my father's house as it bordered the forest which allowed me to practice without unwanted eyes intruding on my life. Of course, I currently wanted eyes to intrude. In fact, it was the whole reason I was doing this. So I chose a tree which was in easy view from the road and painted the circles to make my target before I headed back over to my car.

There were certain things, as a hunter, which I knew very well about vampires. The first piece of which was the fact that vampires had extremely keen senses which is why I was making sure my bait was perfect. I wanted them aware there was a _chance_ I knew what they were, or at the very least I suspected they were the watered down and highly sanitized version which Hollywood always liked to show off in their movies and shows.

I didn't want to scare them off, but a bunch of vampires which were cocky enough to drive around in a forty thousand dollar vehicle when everyone else drove vehicles worth barely a third of that – on the high end – were going to be far too proud to be frightened away by someone who carried around stakes.

I opened my trunk and pulled out the two wooded stakes as well as a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula. I aligned the two stakes in an x shape in my back window as if it was some sort of rebel art statement and then headed back to the tree, dropping the book to the ground beside me.

A human wouldn't even see the book, let alone notice what title it was, but a bunch of vampires would. For that matter, most humans wouldn't even spot the stakes.

I tossed one of the throwing daggers into the tree, burying it deep between the bullseye and the closest circle. Then I waited.

…

It took longer than I expected, but I finally felt eyes on the back of my head as I was tossing one of my daggers in the air and catching it. I immediately stopped throwing it up in the air and looked at the reflection in the blade, spotting their car parked across the street. Ironically enough, the copper-haired bloodsucker who I was baiting was missing from the group. But the other four were all there.

I hadn't even heard the car drive up. "Stupid shiny Volvo," I cursed under my breath before throwing the dagger I was holding into the tree. It sunk into the bullseye.

…

They watched me throw my daggers for almost an hour as I practiced my skill, pulling the daggers out every time I ran out before returning to my spot and throwing them again. The whole time I pretending like I had no clue they were there watching me.

After they finally left I made stroganoff for Charlie and me, eating mine before he even got home. I used the excuse of homework to delay our fight another day.

That night I spent several hours online researching the local area for missing persons or unexplained bodies. I also looked into how to get info on the other two vampires who I hadn't met yet. Finally, I checked the signal on my tracking device and got the info on where they lived. I created a map, and then I placed a thin silk string on my window. It would tear in two with the slightest of thing, even a strong wind could potentially shred it... if my window was left open. But my window was closed, so if it broke, it meant someone opened my window.

Afterwards I called Jeod's cell, but it unfortunately went straight to voicemail.

"Hey Jeod, it's me, Bella. You must be working on your hunt right now. I just thought I'd give you the low down on the case. There are seven vampires here. I'm pretty sure they must hunt animals because there's been no random missing people or unexplained bodies showing up in the area. They act like a family which is truly hilarious given the fact that we know they don't have any emotions. At least one of them has an ability, and another looks like they might have been a soldier – either as a human or a vampire. One appears to be a succubus and another is a brute. The fifth which was in school is plain, ordinary... I'm pretty sure he's going to be my in with the family as he's the only one who doesn't have a mate. I have yet to meet two of them, though it's my understanding one is a doctor so I'm going to have to stage a visit to the hospital soon. I'll... just have to make sure it looks real. Anyways, call me when you get this as I don't expect this to take me long. I can meet up with you when I'm done."


	5. Chapter 4 - Room

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight as I am not Stephenie Meyer. Since I am not her, I make no money from any fanfictions I post. I also don't own the Evernight Series by Claudia Gray which is part of the inspiration behind this story.

 **AN:** Couple of quick notes here. First and foremost, starting with this chapter is the introduction to journal entries from Bella. These entries, while short will start to show a development from a young innocent child to the angry and hate-filled hunter she is now. Also, this chapter is a bit of a slow read because it's all about the description of how her bedroom is set up and the things she has – except most of her hunting gear which is yet to be revealed – however the finer details from this chapter will play a huge role in the future, so it's necessary.

 **Chapter 4 – Room**

 _September 13_ _th_ _, 2000_

 _Today was my thirteenth birthday. Mom was on a hunt, again, so she wasn't here, as usual. She had left her gifts though. Phil too wasn't here. Phil and mom are going to marry soon, it's sort of creepy really. His gift was also here. Kiera, my best friend was here though, she's only six months older than me. It was hard for me to believe that I now had the tat on my shoulder for a year. The blue rose symbolized me as an official member of Rose, but more importantly it symbolizes who I am. Kiera has a pink rose on her shoulder, more commonly called the friend rose, and my other best friend, Jeod, has a black rose that fades to gray on the outer edges , also known as the death rose._

 _Most kids get jewelry and toys for their birthdays, but not me. My mother's presents consisted of a cyanide pill, a vial of Calts Oil, and a crossbow with a full quiver of arrows. Phil's present had been two boxes of exploding bullets for my .357 – the one I've owned since I learned how to aim and shoot. Kiera got me a set of throwing daggers, all acceptable gifts for a hunter._

 _It was Jeod who broke the rules. He did actually get me a pair of really expensive binoculars. But other than that his gifts were a total waste of money, totally unacceptable, and totally sweet. And the best gifts I got. He gave me a sapphire teardrop necklace, with real gold and a real sapphire. I was too afraid to ask where he got the money from. He also got me a fancy evening gown made by an actual designer and a pair of stilettos. He sure knows how to spoil me, but most of all we went and got our tattoos today. He put my name surrounded by ivy on the back of his neck, and I got his name with a pair of valkyrie wings sprouting from it on the small of my back. My mother is going to kill me, or him... or both of us when she finds out._

 _Blue Rose, Bella_

There were certain things that became a reality when a person was a hunter. The first thing, the main thing, was that a hunter always eventually becomes hard. For me, I became hard after the loss of my best friend. It hadn't even been a year ago, but that had been when I'd finally truly learned just how despicable vampires were.

The other thing about being a hunter, the biggest thing in all reality, was that at some point it was a necessity to learn how to be prepared – how to live in a knapsack and be able to take off at any given time. I was one of the best at that particular skill.

But for once, I had decided to break my own rules and actually unpacked everything in my bags – set up shop so to speak. I had broken every rule that I lived by... because for the first time in forever, I was in a place which was almost home. In a different life – a different world – it actually could have been. Had my mom not been a hunter, had Charlie ever actually fought for me, or had I grown up as a normal girl would... this would have been my home.

Sighing, I checked out where I'd placed everything to make sure it was all perfectly organized. My bedroom had a dresser with three drawers and I'd placed the most important things on the very top. It was all the jewelry Jeod had given to me. The jewelry went from left to right starting with my teardrop sapphire necklace, then my engagement ring, a pair of ruby earrings, an emerald bracelet, an amethyst pin, and finally a topaz brooch. I carefully fingered each piece of jewelry, briefly remembering the excitement as I'd opened each for the first time, remembering the happiness and joy upon discovering a normal girly gift instead of yet another weapon or whatever else my mother or Phil had given me. All of them were a beautiful reminder of a happiness caused by an innocence which had been torn from me. I finally fingered the brooch, looking at it bitterly – the only sour piece mixed in with all the beauty. Jeod had tried so hard last September to keep the tradition alive, but he should have known... nothing would ever be the same after the end of last March.

After I was done looking at my jewelry, I opened the first drawer and started to verify my clothes were set out properly. My clothes were set into three rows, starting with shirts in the first row, carefully organized in a gradient color arc, starting with black and ending with white. Almost all of my shirts were tees, but there were a couple of red blouses and a dark gray sweatshirt mixed in. The second row were pants which were organized in the same color gradient – the pants were all jeans except for one set of black sweats. And the final row was my underwear, lingerie actually, also organized by color. To anyone on the outside, if they saw how everything placed – not to mention the fact that I was going through it all – they'd probably assume I was OCD, but it wasn't about some sort of need for perfection, it was about a need for simplicity. I needed to be able to pack everything fast if it came down to it. I shut the drawer and opened the next one.

In the second drawers were my throwing daggers, a bottle of spray paint, and half a dozen boxes of.357 ammo. I checked the underside of the boxes to verify the special ammo were in the back two boxes, grateful to find that I'd placed them correctly. I moved onto the final drawer.

Inside the bottom drawer was my small stack of pictures and nothing else. None of my pictures were framed, with the exception of one at the bottom of the stack, I pulled them out to look at them, feeling a strange nostalgia as I checked to verify they were in the correct order. The first image was of Charlie and my mom, barely an adult at the time, holding me as a baby. I didn't need to turn it over to read the text on the back which I'd written on it myself, **'Charlie, Renee, and Bella at one month.'** I placed the picture face down on the top of the dresser.

The next image skipped forward several years, there were no pictures of my early youth – no real time for photography being raised in the life of a hunter – in fact, the last photo and the one I was looking at now were the only ones from before I was twelve. In this picture, a very young me stood by the side of my mom, the scant eight years from the time I was a baby to this picture having aged and hardened my mom to look far older than the mere twenty-six she was, and in the background stood Phil, two years her junior, but with his build looking to be her senior. As I flipped it over to place it on top of the other photo I'd already sat down, my handwriting mocked me with the simplistic description; **'Renee, Phil, and Bella age eight.'** The reality was, that had been the day we'd laid my grandmother to rest. I put it down and looked at the next picture.

This was the first of the truly happy pictures I had and it contained me and two others. I stood in the center with Jeod on my left, his hair sporting the golden blond dreadlocks he'd been rocking at the time, and on my right was a girl who was almost a foot taller than me with short ash-blond hair – my best friend, Kiera. I was holding hands with each of my two friends. I placed it face down on top of the other two photos, barely glancing at the description on the back, **'Bella on her twelfth birthday, Jeod age fourteen, and Kiera age twelve.'**

The next image had Jeod and I holding hands, Kiera had taken the photo and had managed to snap it while I was laughing. The teardrop sapphire necklace was around my neck; the back read, **'Bella on her thirteenth birthday with Jeod age fifteen.'** The next image was of all three of us again, I had a pair of ruby earrings in my ears and my hair was swept back in a ponytail; **'Bella on her fourteenth birthday, Kiera age fourteen, and Jeod age sixteen.'** The next picture was of Kiera and me, the amethyst pin stuck into my shirt. Jeod had been on a hunt on my birthday, but had left my present for me – the giant smile on my face as I stood beside my best friend, still a foot taller than me, showing how happy I'd been for for the gift. **'Bella on her fifteenth birthday with Kiera age fifteen.'**

The next image was different, a reminder that even during the happy innocence where I'd chosen to ignore the person I was born to be tragedy had reined supreme, because in this picture was of a pile of ashes and twenty-five small crosses bordering the edge of the image. I knew past the edge of the photo were another eleven crosses. **'Safe-haven, old warehouse, burned to the ground by V.'** The destruction of the warehouse had been been one of the biggest blows to our faction with a total of thirty-six people who'd died inside. Among those who had died, included three refugees – people who'd been rescued when we'd killed some particularly sadistic vampires – and two dozen children ranging from three babies to a fourteen year old boy named Ahmed. We never had found out exactly how the vampires had discovered that safe-house.

The next image was of Renee in a simple calf-length tan dress, and Phil in jeans and a leather jacket – his version of a suit. On the back it read, **'Phil and Renee getting married, finally.'** I hadn't even gone to their little wedding at the justice of the peace and hadn't been told about it until my mom had mailed the picture to me with a short letter... still, it had been about time.

The next picture was of a group us. Phil stood on the far left, his arm around my shoulder where I stood to the right of him. Beside me was my mother, and to her right were Kiera and Jeod. Seven others in our faction including a pale white man at the far right with white-blond hair and pink eyes finished off the image. We didn't really ever do group photos, but there'd been a reason behind this photo, it had been the first time anyone had gotten to see Lacey – Phil's big sister – in over a decade. On the back, everyone was listed in order. **'Phil, Bella, Renee, Kiera, Jeod, Lacey, Ezekiel, Carson, Garrick, Margarita, Theresa, and Sampson the albino.'**

In the next picture I was by myself, smiling wide with an Emerald bracelet was on my wrist. No one looking at the photo would know it, but Jeod and Kiera were both standing behind the camera making funny faces at me. I had been trying my hardest not to laugh out loud at their foolish antics. On the back was the far too simple, **'Bella's sixteenth birthday.'** The next picture was of Jeod and me, Jeod was laughing and he was wearing a brand new leather jacket; **'Jeod's nineteenth birthday with Bella.'** The next picture was of Jeod and Kiera, Jeod's arm around her waist – it looked extremely intimate, but I knew the reason he'd been holding her was it was the only way I'd been able to get the photo of her. Kiera held a deadly looking hunting knife I'd got for her and she was smiling, a wicked glint in her eye. **'Kiera's seventeenth birthday with Jeod, March 29** **th** **, 2004.'** It was one of only two photos that were dated

The next picture, the only framed one, was also dated, though I'd have to pull it out of the frame to read the back. Unfortunately, I knew exactly what was written on the back without even looking. It would read **'Funeral pier, March 29** **th** **, 2004**.' The picture was extremely simple when a person first looked at it – the flames making most of the finer details hard to see. But if I looked closely I could recognize the base of the straw and wood making up the funeral pier, and if I looked even harder, I could see the hint of ash-blond hair in the fire. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to banish the painful memory the photo brought forward.

I flipped the frame over and lifted the arm of the frame to grab the final photo from where it was hidden, folded into quarters. I pulled it out and glanced at the back first as I unfolded it. **'Bella's seventeenth birthday with Jeod.'** I turned it over. Unlike all the previous photos with me in it, I was no longer smiling, my face was grim and resolute, my eyes were alight with a cold promise of violence and retribution which I now had to work hard not to let people see. The topaz brooch was in my hair and Jeod held my left hand, his face similarly grim. In my right rand, by my side, was my gun.

I folded the picture back up and placed it where it belonged before I put the pictures back away, and then I closed the drawer.

I stepped away from my drawer and looked around the room to make sure everything else was where I wanted it. There was another reason for my perusal than just a need to make sure everything could be packed away in a hurry. It was also because I needed to be able to know instantly if something was out of place. Even though Rose, the hunting faction I was with, dealt primarily with vampires, vampires were far from the only thing which went bump in the dark – and between things like ghosts, poltergeists, numerous species of fae, and even the occasional demon – it always paid to know where your things were. To top that off, if the vampires were curious enough about me, they might decide to take a look themselves. Of course... that was why there was silk thread attached to my window.

On my desk sat my brand new laptop along with a desk lamp that had been here the last time I'd visited. I opened the right desk drawer to verify the order of my movies. My movies were split into two rows – the comedic fun and the classics. The first row, the comedic fun, consisted of An Interview With A Vampire, An American Werewolf In London, The Exorcist, Frankenstein, Dracula, Sleepwalkers, and The Mummy. The second row, the classics, had Romeo And Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Little Women, Pride And Prejudice, Sense And Sensibility, and Wuthering Heights.

I shut the drawer and went over to the one on the other side. This drawer had the only music CDs I owned – all five of them – and selection of my school supplies. The five discs were Linkin Park, Muse, Shania Twain, John Williams, and Debussy. I was less concerned about the school supplies, still I took stock and counted out the pens, pencils, notebooks, and erasers in the drawer and committing the details to memory.

I stepped over to my closet and opened it up. I had two dresses, three skirts, a pair of dress pants, a blue silk blouse, and a leather jacket. Much like my jewelry, many of the items hanging in the closet were actually gifts from Jeod. On the floor of my closet were the two duffel bags I'd emptied and my two pairs of sneakers, a pair of boots, a pair of sandals, and a pair of stilettos. I closed the closet door.

On either side of my bed was a nightstand. On the side closer to the window were books, to be exact there were six books about vampires – including the copy of Dracula I'd had outside earlier – and six more classical books. The six classical books were stacked from top to bottom in the order of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, a book of Jane Austen's stories, a book of Edgar Allen Poe's short stories and poems, a book of William Shakespeare's plays, and finally a book of a collection of shorts by The Brothers Grimm.

The nightstand on the other side is where I had sat my cell phone. There were three more books on this side, stacked on top of each other. The bottom book was Turn Of The Screw by Henry James and on top of it was a collection of Hans Christian Andersen works with the top book being my journal. On the binding of the leather cover was a hand-stitched blue rose, and on the top were the words, **'Bella, the Blue Rose.'**

My gun was peaking out from under my pillow and I shoved it farther under to hide it. I quickly looked under the skirt of the bed to verify my third duffel was pressed against the wall. I didn't need to look in the duffel to know _everything_ in my hunter's bag or the exact order of it.

I looked around my room one more time before finally laying down to fall asleep for the night.

…

I woke up to my internal alarm telling me that it was the crack of dawn, not that I could tell by the sky in Forks. It was extremely cloudy out, looked like it might even rain today. Of course, I was certain the weather was a large part of what appealed to the vampires masquerading as humans in this town.

The first thing I did was check the silk wire but it was unbroken. On the one hand, I supposed that was good, but I'd honestly expected to find it broken. I frowned.

Next I went to the restroom, relieved myself, and proceeded to take a shower. I got dressed in a dark red tee, a pair of faded blue jeans, and my boots. Finally, I braided my hair and wrapped it around my head, so that my whole neck was visible.

After everything else, I checked my phone, the last thing I had to do. There was a message from Jeod just as I'd hoped. I listened to it, _"Glad to hear that it's going well Bells. Remember to be watchful and call me if it looks like it will be too much for you to do alone. I really don't want to have to burn your body the way we had to with Kiera, so be careful. I don't want you to die. Oh and for crying out loud make sure you're prepared for anything, just in case. Love you, Jeod."_

I frowned because I knew what he was talking about immediately, but he was right I needed to have that kit in my purse. I pulled the duffel bag out from under my bed and took the small kit out before I shoved the bag back under my bed, making sure it was once again right against the wall.

I checked out my window, glad to find Charlie's cruiser was already gone – one more morning which was argument free was a godsend to me, though why I was putting it off, I still wasn't a hundred percent sure.

Sighing, I grabbed up my backpack and headed downstairs to go to school, hoping to beat the Cullens. I wanted to see them arrive for the day as even the most minute details could help me determine the best way to destroy them.


	6. Chapter 5 - Knowledgeable

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight as I am not Stephenie Meyer. Since I am not her, I make no money from any fanfictions I post. I also don't own the Evernight Series by Claudia Gray which is part of the inspiration behind this story.

Chapter 5 – Knowledgeable

 _December 27_ _th_ _, 2000_

 _Damn. Stupid t-shirts. My black tee rode up my back when my mother was right there, and I do mean right there. She saw the tattoo that's on my back. I probably won't be able to sit for a month after the whipping she gave me. I thank my lucky stars Jeod wasn't around, because I don't want to think about what she would have done to him if he had been there too My mother was pissed about the tattoo, even more so when she found out he'd gotten one as well. Thank god Jeod was on a hunt with his father._

 _I don't get why my mother is so pissed though. It's just a goddamn tattoo. And after all of the death, blood spilling, pain, violence, torture, and carnage that occurs in our occupation, it only seems correct to have proof of who my affection belonged to. I love Jeod, not in the way you love someone you plan on spending your life with, but as a brother, as my best friend. Aside from Kiera, he's the most important person in my whole world. Why does it matter if I have a tattoo of his name on the small of my back, especially when everyone knows he could die any day... Honestly, any of us could die on a day to day basis._

 _Blue Rose, Bella_

I sat cross-legged on the trunk of my car as I waited for the Cullens at school. I had made sure to arrive at six in the morning so I could guarantee and park right next to where the Cullens had been parked yesterday.

Angela arrived about half an hour after I did, making her vehicle the second in the student lot. I waved at her when she looked towards me, but otherwise didn't remove myself from my perch. Angela waved back and then headed inside. My guess was she needed to talk with a teacher. She seemed like the type who focused on getting top grades, as well as generally staying ahead.

A few minutes later Tyler showed up, one of the three male admirers I had so far made a note of. He was bolder than the other two, Eric and Mike. I could actually conceivably like the boy if I wasn't already engaged. He'd be good for a roll in the hay... or on a bed... or even a couch. What could I say? I wasn't particular.

He came up to where I was sitting. "What are you doing?" Tyler asked.

"I'm waiting on the Cullens to show, they dropped an item in my yard last night when they stopped by," I said in a bored tone. The lie rolled off of my tongue as easily as white on rice. My mother always claimed I was a bad liar, but the truth of the matter was I could be really good at it when I needed to be.

"Wait a second. The Cullens stopped by your house last night?" Tyler asked, his eyes practically bulging out of his head.

"Why wouldn't they? After all, I'm the newest thing in this town since them," I said calmly. It had nothing to do with that though. I'd made them curious, perhaps even concerned them, and that was why they'd stopped by to spy on me. I intended to continue keeping them off their game too.

"I suppose, but they don't talk with anyone, they stick to themselves," Tyler said.

I shrugged, because I didn't really care what he thought. I looked at him determinedly, already bored with the pointless banter. "Did you have something to ask me?"

"Uh." Even Tyler, as brave as he was, couldn't manage to answer without faltering on his words under my cold stare now that I was tired of whatever game he was playing at. "I was… err… wondering if you might… ah… want to go to a movie?" he finished his question rapidly.

"Maybe another time, Tyler. I'm not settled enough to consider starting dating yet. Try me again in a few weeks," I said pleasantly as I looked up towards the sky smiling. I wouldn't _be here_ in a few weeks for him to try again, but he didn't know that and didn't need to.

Finally, almost fifteen minutes later, the Cullens pulled up. I was disappointed to find only the four of them in the car without my main catch. It was concerning as I'd expected Edward to be with them.

I sighed in genuine disappointment. Even though I'd only spent the one class with Edward, I knew he was my easiest in to the family, the easiest way to take out a major threat to humanity, and without him I'd have to restructure my plan completely.

I rolled my head slightly, loosening my muscles as the engine shut off.

As a hunter, one of the first things I ever learned how to do was change my plan on the fly. It was a necessary part of hunting. In spite of the fact that vampires were beings essentially frozen in stone, they were far too likely to change their minds on a dime.

Rosalie got out of the driver's side, holding herself tall and aloof as she stood, and I knew immediately I wouldn't be able to get to them through her. There was nothing I could use to get in with a succubus... at least not one that was straight and already mated, which she was.

There were still the other three though. I kept my head down, watching from the corner of my eye.

Emmett got out of the front passenger side, his body more relaxed than his mate. He was pretending to be a senior which would make getting close to him hard, but not impossible. He was a brute, I'd already classified him as such, but being a brute meant he was more than just physically strong. He was also egotistical, and having an ego was something I _could use_ , but it was a risk. It was the equivalent of taking a giant chunk of tinder to a roaring flame. I wouldn't rule him out though.

Jasper got out of the backseat on the driver's side, the side closest to me, and his eyes immediately flashed to me. Of all the things I despised about vampires, the fact that some were gifted with extra abilities was one of the largest, and I knew in the instant that his eyes met mine he was one who definitely had a gift. I locked my muscles in place to prevent myself from fisting my hands and giving myself away anymore than I already apparently had. I didn't know enough about him to use him, so I shoved him off my list of possibles.

The fourth got out on the other side of the car, short enough that she was hard to see. The girl in school yesterday had called her Alice. I knew, as was the usual case with smaller vampires, she had to have an ability of some sort, which would most likely be problematic in the future. The thing was, she was also my best bet on getting into the family now that the unmated one had apparently taken off. She was in my grade, meaning it would be more reasonable to interact with her than the brute.

She rounded the back of the car and I eyed her for a moment, just a little more openly than I had been prior to that, before looking down and reaching into my bag.

I was unable to hear any of their footsteps as they started to walk past me in order to head to class, but I was still able to sense them, relying on the skin prickles telling me I was in danger to judge the distance, as I rifled around in my bag.

"Hey," I said loudly just as they were past my car. "Where's your brother at?"

I looked up just as I pulled a piece of paper and a pen out. Rosalie kept walking, but the other three stopped. Alice slowly turned back to look at me. Her eyes were gold today, confirming my assumption that their family hunted animals and not humans, but it felt as if she was practically looking through me instead of at me.

"Why do you want to know?" Her voice was extremely high pitched, if she was singing than I would say she was a coloratura soprano, but she wasn't singing.

It was higher in pitch than nails on a chalkboard and it took everything I had to force myself not to shiver from the sound of it.

"He seemed curious about me yesterday. It made me curious about him." I shrugged. It was as close to a hundred percent truth as I could get. An essential thing when it came to vampires. Any time I lied, I risked them figuring it out. Even knowing how to control my heart rate and breathing, there were other potential tells which I didn't have as much control over and could give me away if I lied.

"He had to go deal with a family emergency back east."

I frowned, wondering what had really driven him off. Finally, I finished scribbling out my note. "That's too bad, but can you do me a huge favor and have him call me when he gets back. Assuming I'm still here then." I got off my car and stepped over to her, holding out the piece of paper. "Or... if you'd like to maybe talk fashion sometime, I'd be interested."

She took the paper from me, suspicion clear in her eyes. I knew I was breaking every rule when it came to vampires, but I didn't care. I refused to be a timid human who was afraid of them based on some instinct bred into me because of a simple scentless pheromone they gave off.

"I promise I don't bite," I said with a grin before walking past them and heading towards the school.


	7. Chapter 6 - Sinker

**Disclaimer:** I have never and will never own the Twilight Saga.

 **Chapter 6 – Sinker**

 _September 13_ _th_ _, 2001_

 _Another year. Another birthday. Yippee for me. Not! I'm officially fourteen. Except for Jeod, my gifts sucked. Why is it so wrong to want normal presents? What I wouldn't give to get a dress as a present from my mother? I would love to get jewelry, toys, perhaps the new Gameboy Advance, but no, I get tools for hunting. Why couldn't my mother have just let me grow up with Charlie? Maybe I wouldn't have minded so much if she was ever here, but she's not. Why can't she at least be here for her own daughter's birthday? Jeod promises that it'll get better, that I'll eventually be used to it, but what if I don't want to get used to it? I suppose I don't have complaining rights, considering what Jeod has gone through, but still._

 _Jeod's mother died while giving birth to him and then Jeod's father gave him to Serenity – an elderly hunter who was too old and sickly to hunt anymore – to care for him until he was old enough to join his father on the hunts. Jeod's father's a special kind of hunter, he's a semita, a tracker. He hunts down the vampires that are hard to catch. So from the time he was five until he was twelve he spent most of his life on the road with his father. Given all that, I definitely have no complaining rights._

 _But I got off topic, my stupid gifts, and my stupid birthday. My mother's present was a new .357, Phil's present was a god damned bomb manual – I didn't even need it as my mother taught me how to make bombs before I was able to freaking walk. And don't even get me started on Kiera's gift. She knows me better than that, but she got it anyway, a vial of Sylindrix Tonic. I'll never use the stuff. I would never even get close enough, intimately, to be able to convince a vampire to drink it._

 _Jeod on the other hand, well Jeod was sweet as always. He did get me a wicked pair of sai blades, and I'll admit they're sweet, but not exactly normal for someone my age. He also got me a pair of ruby earrings and they're beautiful. He also got me a bottle of perfume,_ _Initial for Women by Boucheron,_ _and another dress – this time it was a pink Armani gown. Once again I don't want to know where he got the money._

 _His last gift to me was a lesson in the technique of luring a vampire in – the art to bait and hook, followed up by the sinker. Jeod and I are going to go on a hunt together soon so he wants me aware of how the hunt will go down. Jeod was the only good part of today._

 _Blue Rose_

I still wasn't certain if I'd successfully hooked my bait or not which was driving me nuts. I didn't want to be at my father's place any longer than I had to. It was actually somewhat funny, because in another life his house could have been mine, but I wasn't that girl, and the idea of home was nothing more than a false platitude. I'd seen what happened when people believed they were in a safe place first hand.

Sighing, I drove the last two blocks to my place.

When I arrived home there was a pile of junk pickup in the drive – a nineteen-fifty-something Chevy truck. Out front was a tall boy, and beside him was a man in a wheelchair. They both had copper skin. I vaguely recognized them from my past visits to my dad as I pulled to a stop out front, leaving Charlie's spot open.

As I got out of the car I ran through a list of names, putting the faces with the bodies. They were Quileute, and as my mom had taught me, the Quileutes had shape-shifters in their bloodline – something I was choosing to ignore as most shape-shifters lived a normal human life and never actually changed.

Unfortunately, based off of the way the boy looked, the gene had been reactivated – something that occurred whenever there was a threat close enough to them to trigger the genetic transition, causing a chemical reaction which heated and aged the body enough to properly be able to survive the transition. I knew I couldn't let the suspicion get confirmed though, because if I did, I would have to kill the boy myself or call in another hunting faction to destroy him. And, in spite of everything, I didn't want to hurt my dad who had to be friends with this man and his son. So ignorance was my only option.

The name of the man in the wheelchair finally came to me, Billy. His legs had been permanently damaged in the car wreck which had killed his wife back when I had only been a few years old. They'd had three kids, a set of twin girls who were around two years older than me, Rebecca and Rachel, and a boy about two years younger than me, Jacob. That had to be the boy who stood in front of me now.

I came up to them. "Hello Billy, Jacob," I said with a slight nod. "You guys here to visit with Charlie?"

Jacob looked shocked that I remembered them or perhaps that I even knew them. "Yeah, we're here to see Charlie... and a football game," Billy said.

I went over to the door and unlocked it. "Well he should be home shortly, so why don't you come in and make yourselves comfortable. I'm sure there's a college game on or something. If I had known you guys were coming I would have stopped at the store and got some better food so I could make something a little nicer than average. Oh well, I'm sure I can make something fairly decent from the stuff in the fridge," I said quickly as I walked inside and toward the kitchen, accepting I'd have to wait to work more on the conundrum of the Cullens.

"Jake, why don't you go see what's on TV?" Billy asked as he rolled into the kitchen with me.

As Jake walked into the living room I heard him mutter, "Subtle much."

I resisted the urge to chuckle. Billy had inadvertently found out what my mother was several months before I was born. "So how much does the boy know?" I asked quietly as I opened the refrigerator.

"Of you? Nothing. And with any amount of luck it will stay that way," Billy said.

"Glad to hear it and how much does the boy know of the vampires in town?" I wondered aloud.

"He knows the tribal legends but he thinks they are nothing than that," Billy said.

"But that will be changing soon won't it?" I asked before I could stop myself – and in spite of the fact that I knew I shouldn't.

"Yes, very soon by the growth spurt he's taken," Billy replied calmly.

I pulled out some steaks and vegetables from the fridge. "Okay, I'm going to pretend I didn't ask that question, and more importantly, I'm going to pretend you didn't answer my question about the boy," I stated as I set the food on the counter.

Billy laughed. "You know, he isn't actually that much younger than you."

I turned to look at Billy. "In comparison to me, Billy, he will always be a boy. Even when he does become a –" I cut myself off, starting again "– Even when he does realize the truth about this world he will never know as much as me and he will never see the world in the way I do. All you have ever seen has been just one or maybe two kinds of monsters. I've seen dozens. I know a different world than he will ever have the misfortune of," I explained calmly and headed toward the pantry, pulling out some potatoes before returning to the kitchen counter.

Billy opened his mouth but Jacob came back in at that time.

"Hey, dad, there's a game on which you'd probably enjoy. I can help Isabella with making food."

I let out a mental groan at the sound of my full first name, though I had to admit I was shocked he even remembered it.

Billy rolled out of the kitchen and to the living room with a slight grunt.

"So what did he want to talk to you about?" Jacob asked.

I grinned in spite of myself. "First of all, it's Bella. And secondly, I don't gossip."

"Another words it was about me, right?" Jacob persisted.

My grin turned into a smirk. The boy was smart even if he didn't know the reasoning behind my conversation with his father. "It wasn't _all_ about you," I finally said to placate him.

I could practically feel his pout behind me but didn't dare turn around to verify it, knowing I wasn't done smirking.

Finally, he changed the subject and asked, "So what are you making for supper?" Apparently he could tell that I wasn't giving out any more info. Like I said, smart boy.

I went back to the fridge and grabbed a lemon marinade out of it,. "Marinated steak, baked potatoes, and steamed veggies, you sure you want to help?"

He nodded and then shook his head, and rushed back to the living room. I laughed and got to work. If there was only one thing which tended to scare boys off, it was cooking a hard meal. Well... that and shopping.

…

I finished making the meal just before Charlie arrived home and was plating up the dishes when my dad walked in.

"Your buddy is in the living room hogging the tv," I greeted him in a half joking manner.

"Is that any way to say hello to your dad?"

"Charlie..." I started but finally just shook my head. There was no point in arguing the point with him. "Did you have nice day at work?" I finished making the four plates of food.

I turned with his plate in my hand in time to see him frowning in genuine confusion at my question. His look made me want to roll my eyes but I schooled my features. I supposed that was what I got for trying to be the good daughter.

"Here's your food." I handed him his plate, forcing him to take it. "I'll bring in the dishes for Billy and Jacob and then head upstairs as I've got homework to do."

"Okay," he mumbled, heading into the living room ahead of me as I picked up the other two dishes and bringing them into Charlie's friend and his son, giving them their suppers.

I made my escape from the room as quickly as possible, grabbing my plate of food from the kitchen before heading upstairs to my room.


End file.
